Posted on 05/22/2016 9:57:33 AM PDT by EveningStar
On the second day of her dream vacation on exclusive Bald Head Island, Julie Mall went with her family to the beach to catch the sunset. Her 11-year-old son asked to drive the golf cart back to their $1,000-a-day rented cottage.
It was dusk, no traffic on the path and his father would sit next to him. A two-block, 30-second ride. She said sure. What could go wrong?
In the next four hours, Mall says she was pinned to the ground by police, repeatedly accused of being drunk, frogmarched barefoot aboard a ferry in handcuffs, jailed in leg irons and charged with child abuse.
(Excerpt) Read more at charlotteobserver.com ...
Mother lets 11 year old child drive golf cart while supervised and gets charged with child abuse.
Mother teaches 4 year old son that he can be a girl if he wants to be... gets applauded as an enlightened progressive woman.
Well then have another RC cocola.
“I’ve never owned anything but a manual. They are more fun to drive.”
Unless you are stuck in stop-and-go traffic on I-70 due to road work, as I was once. I thought my left leg was gonna fall off.
But yeah, they can be fun on twisty roads with little traffic.
At least no dogs were shot in the making of this dangerous arrest.
But, to be fair, that was back when it didn't take 6 cops to tackle an 80 year old woman.
I hope to be going to Bald ahead later in the year. Maybe I should get a Tee shirt that says “Don’t taze me bro”.
In the city I live kids, about 12 years old, drive golf carts throughout a certain subdivision.
It appears they not very careful. (They’re 12)
I have to admit I never considered calling the police.
Fortunately, no cop’s delicate ego was permanently harmed.
Here’s what gets me:
Mall returned to Brunswick County, about 200 miles from Charlotte, on Aug. 20, 2015, for trial on the charges. Officer Hunter, who had been subpoenaed, did not appear, and the case was continued until Oct. 2.
Mall returned on that date, but Hunter again failed to show up for court. Baldwin, the village attorney, says his understanding was that the officer was told to be on standby and was expecting a phone call summoning him to testify, but he never got the call. Without a witness, the state dismissed the case.
But the charges could be reinstated by the district attorney’s office any time up to two years after the offense, under N.C. law.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article78955387.html#storylink=cpy
If you or I fail to appear in court after a summons is issued, a warrant for arrest is immediately issued. Why wasn’t the cop arrested and charged with contempt like any other citizen would be.
I was also mortified to read that this little community has a ratio of one cop for ever 7 1/2 residents! granted they do triple duty (police, fire, emt), but still that’s just a little overkill, wouldn’t you say?
“ You must be 16 and have a valid drivers’ license to drive a golf cart on Bald Head Island.”
This is why she should not have let the kid drive the cart. But I don’t see anything in the story that leads me to believe the cops thought the kid was drunk. When they let the husband drive off with the cart, I don’t believe the story about them being drunk. When they do no sobriety test I don’t believe the story about them being drunk. When the cop doesn’t show up twice for the court, coupled with the above, I don’t believe their version of the story at all.
Husband that was supposedly sitting next to the kid should have been given a citation and sent on his way.
Both grandsons played golf with me all the time beginning when they were eight - quite often scoring better than I. Once they were twelve, they were expected to put my clubs on and off the cart and drive. “Driving Ms. Daisy” they called it. The oldest one did fine, but then he lived on a farm and had learned to drive a tractor by the time he was eight.
Golf carts can tip over quite easily and some kids just don’t seem to pick it up as easily as others. If it was a liability issue with the resort, a warning not to let her son drive should be sufficient. On the other hand, I have seen the way some guys drive, particularly after a few beers and they should not be allowed behind the wheel.
The liberal mindset about wealth which is applicable here: The truth probably is the liberals don't like little conservative kids driving around in expensive golf arts because it's a sign of wealth, ergo capitalism thus they must be punished and forced to give up more of their wealth by redistributing it. The very same liberal types who worship Obama (who is probably a billionaire or more by now), celebrity athletes (who are almost always multi-millionaires), and tech elites like Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Gates (who are among the wealthiest on the planet), all of which usually are atheist or non-Christian. If any of thme are Christian or state it so they must be bad and have their wealth redistributed and their guns confiscated. If they are non-Christian they should be able to keep their armed bodygurads anc income but donate to useless charities that have anything to do with global warming or any disasters that will put their name in the spot-light.
They charged her with intoxication? What was her blood alcohol content?
It's practically a private resort, the island is covered with expensive houses. They're there as security more than anything else. Most everyone comes and goes via passenger ferry. Some arrive and depart via private boat. Not much in the way of crime.
Hi, may I ask state or location?
I did the same with my son when he was 12.
I don't know the laws on that island but I live on the coast of NC where there are a lot of golf courses. It is very common to see kids driving their golf cart back home on public streets. A golf cart can't be licensed for street traffic, so why would you need to have a license or be "of age." We have a cop live in our neighborhood and his kids used to drive the neighbor's golf cart on the streets. No one ever gave it a moment's thought.
.
Read story enough to see she admits she was wrong to let son drive. She admits she spoke to the officer defensively and pointed her finger in his face.
To me that says everything else hinged on and escalated from those two poor choices.
She seems (from what I read of the article) no better than BLM folks with their attitude against authority. Even if the officer is wrong - you don’t make things worse by arguing with him. Though she may not have been seeking attention of her incident, she surely caused much of it, along with her husband for thinking they are above the law. Let the kid drive on golf course other private property not public areas.
No sympathy for people who knew better but did multiple foolish things. ( just in the beginning of the story - I’m sure there were more later)
“She said she violated the minimum age for driving the cart.”
Fair enough, but I still think the reaction by the cops was excessive. A quick citation would have done the trick.
Now, maybe there’s more to the story, and I’m reasoning with incomplete data. Happens often with stories like these.
This is why she should not have let the kid drive the cart.
Thanks. That was some important data I was missing. I'll also just assume that the cops had jurisdiction to stop them because they were on a public road. I still think the whole situation got blown up beyond reasonable proportions. Whose fault that is, I still don't know.
Given the article, I’m pretty sure a couple of volunteers will pop up to take her case.
Especially if they can get a settlement from the resort for not warning people not to let pre-teens drive the golf courses or other options for someone who might have been inebriated to get back within the rules.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.